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Devlin counting us down for our first song of the night kept me from doing just that, and I turned off everything in my mind except for the music. I didn’t see the crowds while I played with my band. All I could hear, see, fucking feel, was the music that seemed to radiate out of me with the force of a tropical storm that was quickly turning into a hurricane.
Nothing in the world had ever felt as good as being on stage, sharing my love and need for my music. Nothing had ever gotten me as revved up, as high. Nothing could make me feel like a god more than my music…
No, that was wrong. A
Being a rock star didn’t seem as important when faced with the possibility of losing her forever, something I knew would happen if I stayed with OtherWorld. I would happily quit and follow her and Noah to Nashville, find a job working for the DOT there. And then, when she was old enough, I’d put my ring on her finger, put my baby in her belly.
Everything inside of me went simultaneously hot and cold. I wanted all of that, damn it. I wanted it and more, but I wasn’t good enough for A
But I wanted to be selfish…
If you asked me how well the show went that night, I couldn’t have told you. My mind had shut down and I’d played on autopilot. I didn’t hear the screams for one more song, or see the reactions on my band-brothers’ faces as we left the stage and returned to the back room where more beers were already waiting on us.
Grabbing two, I swallowed one before my ass had even hit the loveseat and quickly tipped the other to my lips. Vaguely, I heard the others laughing and someone patting Axton on the back. From the groan I heard I was pretty sure it had been Wroth doing the patting. Someone sat beside me and I was surprised to see it was Liam. Usually he went off with Tawny right after our gigs, either to get some pussy or more drugs, I didn’t know. Didn’t care.
“You alright, man?”
I nearly laughed at my junky friend asking if I was alright. I bit back the laugh, though. I wasn’t sure how I could hold back the other emotions churning deep inside of my gut if I did.
Noah walking into the room with Chelsea and A
A
Curious, I followed her gaze only to find a man in his late thirties, dressed in an expensive suit, standing in the doorway. Noah stepped forward, shaking the man’s hand as if he knew him already.
“Glad you could make it, Rich.” Noah encouraged the other man to come in, gri
“You got that right, boy.” Rich glanced from one of my band members to the next, only stopping for a few seconds on each of us, but I could see the excitement in his eyes when I met his gaze. “I like your sound. I think I can take your band far, if you’re willing to let me try.”
I shot a look at Noah, who was still gri
“Mind telling us what’s going on?” Wroth’s scary-ass voice brought my head around, turning my attention back to what was going on around us.
“When I was in Nashville last week, I told the radio exec about OtherWorld. He gave me Rich Branson’s number and told me to mention his name so Branson would take me seriously.” Noah shrugged his shoulders. “Once we found Axton to take over for me, I knew that you guys were ready, so I asked Rich to come out and listen tonight.”
“Rich Branson?” Axton repeated the name, a frown tightening his brow. “Aren’t you one of the top managers in California?”
The Branson guy was gri
My heart stopped at his words. Holy shit. Here it was, my chance to go after the dreams I’d had almost my entire life. I had known it would happen one day, but now that the chance was staring me right in the face, I couldn’t breathe.
Branson continued, laying all the details out for us, and my heart still didn’t beat. We had a week to get our life in West Bridge in order before going to California. He’d send a bus for us, give us a taste of what life on the road touring would be like. Around me, the others were going crazy, laughing and slapping each other on the back. We’d made it. OtherWorld was going to be something special.
All I had to do was leave A
The noises around me, added to those in my head, were making it hard to think straight. I jumped to my feet, grabbed hold of A
The air was cool and I sucked in one lungful after another. My entire body was shaking and when I looked at A
“I…” I broke off, not sure what I was going to say. Shaking my head, I covered her hands and closed my eyes. “Things are just going too fast. I can’t slow it down. It’s too fast for me to wrap my head around and I need to make sense of it.”
I heard her breath hitch as she inhaled sharply and forced my eyes open. “I know,” she whispered. “It’s kind of scary. I’m kind of scared too. But I know this is what you’ve always wanted. Here’s your chance. Don’t let your fear of change take that away from you. You’re too good at what you do to let this slip through your fingers. OtherWorld is going to go places; you’re going to become the rock gods I’ve always known you would be.” Her arms wrapped around my neck and she buried her face in my neck. “I’m so proud of you, Z.”
Hearing her say those words, letting her put it all into perspective for me, was exactly what I needed. For the first time since Branson had opened his mouth, I felt like my heart was beating again. This was happening and I was going with OtherWorld on this crazy rollercoaster that I knew it would be.
She was right. This was everything I’d ever wanted. All I had to do was say goodbye to her.
Motherfucking hell.